Rudy's winemaking philosophy centers on the concept that great wines are created in the vineyard and not in the winery. His most important winemaking tool is his palate: his ability to understand and analyze each vineyard’s wine potential through the tasting of the grapes. All of the grapes used in the von Strasser label are picked at their optimum ripeness when the flavors are peaking and the tannins have become ripe and soft. Based on these harvest decisions, the correct combination of fermentation and winemaking techniques (including cold soaking, fermentation temperatures, extended maceration, aeration, and an aggressive barrel program) are employed to maximize each vineyard’s potential. The end result is wine of great extract and a tannin complex which is both huge and soft at the same time. The resultant mouth feel is often described as being “chewy”, and makes these hillside wines both approachable when young, yet also worthy of further development with age.
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Rudy's winemaking philosophy centers on the concept that great wines are created in the vineyard and not in the winery. His most important winemaking tool is his palate: his ability to understand and analyze each vineyard’s wine potential through the tasting of the grapes. All of the grapes used in the von Strasser label are picked at their optimum ripeness when the flavors are peaking and the tannins have become ripe and soft. Based on these harvest decisions, the correct combination of fermentation and winemaking techniques (including cold soaking, fermentation temperatures, extended maceration, aeration, and an aggressive barrel program) are employed to maximize each vineyard’s potential. The end result is wine of great extract and a tannin complex which is both huge and soft at the same time. The resultant mouth feel is often described as being “chewy”, and makes these hillside wines both approachable when young, yet also worthy of further development with age.
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